Halloween Fun
by Tigergirl1223
Summary: A modern day story of Halloween in Hope Valley. Note this story takes place in the United States, not Canada in this case.
1. Chapter 1

**Just a note: While I understand that not all Hearties celebrate Halloween and I respect that fact, I would ask that you refrain from leaving rude comments should this be the case. Please and thank you. Also, I promise this story won't have any sort of menacing themes.**

It was early October in the town of Hope Valley, Maryland and Elizabeth Thornton was decorating her second grade classroom for the festivities. She had arrived to Hope Valley Elementary School early that way all of the decorations would be set out by the time her students arrived. She smiled to herself as she placed pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns around the room, hung cut outs of bats and ghosts on the walls, and a few fall colored leaves as a finishing touch. The first bell rang and she glanced out the window to find all of the students getting off the buses. Among the students were her own son, William Thornton, who was in the fourth grade, Lillian "Lilly" Coulter, Lea and Lydia Cantrell, who were all in her second grade class, Joshua "Josh" Flynn, who was in first grade, and Lilly's brother, Aaron Coulter, who had just started kindergarten that year. The students entered the classroom and she smiled brightly, "Good morning boys and girls!"

"Good morning, Mrs. Thornton," they all chorused back.

"Today, we are going to start off our morning with spelling. As you can see, I have written a list of fall and Halloween spelling words on the board. I would like you all to copy this list down in your notebooks and then use the dictionaries on the back shelf to define them. The spelling test will be this Friday where you will be asked to spell the words correctly and use them in a sentence properly."

The students nodded, got out their notebooks, and obtained dictionaries. Elizabeth took a seat at her desk and finished grading the math tests she hadn't finished the night beforehand. Jack had had to work late with the Hope Valley Police Department so she had been watching William, Mary, and Charlotte on her own.

"Mrs. Thornton," Lilly raised her hand.

Elizabeth got up from her desk and walked over to the young girl, "Yes Lilly."

Lilly motioned for Elizabeth to lean closer and Elizabeth obeyed, "Mommy and Daddy said they wanted to talk to you and Uncle Jack about the town Halloween party and also my birthday party."

"I know she does and that's why we're all having dinner at Abigail's Diner tonight," said Elizabeth.

"Oh good!" Lilly beamed.

"Now finish your list and definitions, Lilly," stated Elizabeth. Lilly nodded and went back to her work. After their math lesson and science lesson, Elizabeth led the children down to the cafeteria for lunch. By the time Elizabeth arrived to her classroom again, Rosemary Coulter was standing by her desk, "What are you doing here, Rosie?" Elizabeth questioned as she found her lunch and sat down behind her desk.

"I can't just come by to see my best friend and the Godmother of my children?" Rosemary questioned and Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, "Fine, I'm here to ask you a favor."

"That's what I thought," Elizabeth smirked.

"Listen, I know I usually just take over committees in this town…"

"You?" Elizabeth asked jokingly.

"Yes, I know," mocked Rosemary, "Listen, I really need you to take over the Halloween committee because I have too much responsibility on my hands. I already have my classes, children's church choir rehearsals, play rehearsals for _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ at the rec center, not to mention Lilly's birthday party, Aaron is still adjusting to being in school, Lee's working late to complete that new CVS down the street from Abigail's Diner, and then of course, there's Violet, who is not sleep training well," listed Rosemary. Violet was Lee and Rosemary's three month old baby daughter.

"Well," Elizabeth hesitated.

"PLEASE Elizabeth! I swear I spend all my time either pumping or dealing with one of my kids or the town kids. If I'm not planning Lilly's party, then I'm helping Lilly or Aaron with their homework. If I'm not working on lesson plans, then I'm planning a rehearsal schedule. And then Violet's colicky and she loves to be held, plus she still nurses every 2-3 hours, even throughout the night. And then of course, there are all the stinky little diaper changes and you know what's in a baby's diaper," she whispered with emphasis, "I'm so tired I can't see straight. You wouldn't really say no to the mother of an infant would you?"

Elizabeth struggled to hold in her amusement over Rosemary's dramatics and nodded, "Yes, I'll take over responsibility for the Halloween planning committee. And if you and Lee ever need an evening baby and child free, Jack and I are always willing to babysit."

"Thank you," Rosemary slid her hand across and collapsed on Elizabeth's desk. Rosemary stood to leave, "I owe you one."

"Are we still on for dinner tonight?" Elizabeth called after her.

"Of course!" shouted Rosemary excitedly.

Later that evening, after school had let out for the day, Elizabeth picked up her daughters from preschool and headed for home. Jack was just arriving at the same time, "Daddy!" shouted Mary and Charlotte happily.

"Hey girls," he kissed them both, "Hey Buddy," he hugged William.

"Hey Daddy," he smiled.

"How was school today?" asked Jack.

William shrugged, "Okay, I have a math test about mixed fractions on Friday. I was wondering if you could help me study."

"Of course I can, Buddy. Maybe after we get back from Abigail's," William nodded and Elizabeth unlocked the door.

The kids ran inside and went to their rooms, "William, get started on your homework. No video games!" she demanded. She heaved a sigh and sat down on the couch.

Jack sat down next to Elizabeth and wrapped his arm around her. They kissed and he asked, "How was your day?"

"It was good except for the fact that Rosemary stopped by my classroom," started Elizabeth.

Jack chuckled amusingly, "Oh boy. What did she want?"

"She wants me to take over the Halloween committee," said Elizabeth.

"Really?" Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise, "She wants someone else in this town to be in charge of a committee?"

"Want isn't exactly the right word, but I think she's too overwhelmed to do so. Between her obligations at school, church, the rec center, plus the kids and the baby, I think she needs someone else to shoulder the responsibility of the town's Halloween celebration."

"Understandable," said Jack.

"Don't be surprised if she takes up my offer to babysit the kids sometime soon," said Elizabeth.

Jack chuckled, "That's okay. I fondly remember our days with infants and still know what it's like to deal with young children," Jack looked at his watch, "Well, we should probably be heading over to Abigail's soon. I'm sure Abigail and Clara will be expecting us."

Elizabeth nodded, "Let me go get William and we'll be on our way."


	2. Chapter 2

The Thornton family arrived at Abigail's Diner and it was fairly slow given the fact that it was Monday evening, "Jack, Elizabeth," Clara Flynn greeted them, "Your usual table is all ready," she gestured, "I'll let Abigail know to bring out your drink orders."

"Okay, thanks Clara," said Jack as the family took a seat. Abigail and Clara weren't natives of Hope Valley. Abigail had grown up in the suburbs of Philadelphia as did her first husband, Noah Stanton. They had married right out of high school and right before Noah went into the police academy. After Noah had graduated and Abigail had finished college at Villanova University with a degree in marketing, they had decided to move to Maryland shortly after their son, Peter, was born. Sadly Noah, had died while on duty fifteen years ago, in 2003, and shortly afterwards, in 2008, Peter had died in a tragic car accident not long after marrying his college sweetheart, Clara. Abigail's grief nearly caused her to close the diner and move back home to Philly when she decided to seek guidance from the new pastor at Hope Valley Community Church. Abigail and Pastor Frank Hogan had hit it off right away and something between the two of them clicked. They had now been married for eight years and had adopted two siblings from foster care, Becky and Cody, just two year ago. Abigail had decided to keep the diner open and had even offered Clara a job. It was through the diner that Clara had met her husband, Jesse Flynn, an employee of Lee Coulter's construction company. They married the same year Abigail and Frank had married, in 2010, and they had two boys, Joshua Peter "Josh" Flynn and Adam Joel Flynn. Clara was also six months pregnant with the couple's third child, another boy to be named Seth Timothy Flynn.

Abigail brought at the drinks and looked around the table, "Aren't Lee, Rosemary, and the kids supposed to be joining you?" she asked.

"They are, I don't know why they're running so late," Elizabeth sighed.

"They're probably running on LeVeaux time," Jack chuckled. Jack and Rosemary had grown up together in a small town in New York, about two hours from New York City. Elizabeth was also from New York, but grew up in the Hamptons, the daughter of a wealthy ship-builder, William Thatcher. Both Jack and Rosemary had decided to attend a small college in Westminster, Maryland, McDaniel College, with Jack majoring in sociology with a criminal justice specialization and Rosemary majoring in Theatre Arts with a minor in Pre-K-12 education. It was at McDaniel that Jack met Elizabeth, an elementary education major who had decided to break Thatcher family tradition of Cornell University for a small, liberal arts college, and Rosemary met Leland "Lee" Coulter, a business administration major from Hagerstown, Maryland hoping of opening his own construction business. They had all decided to stay in Maryland after college and they were now raising their families in Hope Valley.

"Yoo hoo!" everyone heard and glanced over to find Rosemary waving. The Coulters walked over to the table and Rosemary sat down next to Elizabeth, "Sorry we're late. I had to feed the baby before we came here."

"Not a problem, Rosie," said Elizabeth, patting Violet's head as she slept in her car seat.

"Aunt Elizabeth, Mommy says you and Uncle Jack are coming to my birthday party on Saturday!" said Lilly excitedly.

"We most certainly are," affirmed Elizabeth and Lilly grinned from ear to ear.

"You don't have to work Saturday, right?" Lee asked Jack, leaning closer to him.

"No, why?" he questioned back.

"Because, with Lilly having a _Frozen_ themed party, Rosie plans on having 'Let It Go' play in a continual loop on her iPod. I'll need someone there to help me keep my sanity," Jack chuckled as Lee continued, "I mean don't get me wrong, the movie was okay the first time, not the 200th time, but you know Lilly and Rosie's obsession with Disney," Jack nodded. Rosie had had two tabby cats named Simba and Nala and two Dalmatian dogs named Pongo and Perdita growing up; thankfully, Lee had convinced Rosie to name their current two tabby cats something different. She had chosen the names Romeo and Juliet, "Between the constant screenings of _Frozen_ and _Moana_ and the fact that about the only thing that soothes the baby is Rosie's singing, and she always chooses a Disney song or a Broadway show tune, I've about had it up to here with princesses and plays," Lee gestured.

Jack laughed, "Sounds like we need to have a guy's day with William and Aaron sometime soon."

"Gentlemen," Rosemary sing-songed to get their attention, "What are we talking about?"

"Nothing, sweetheart," Lee smiled and kissed her cheek.

When their meals arrived, Elizabeth went straight to work in planning the Halloween celebration, "Well, as always, we'll have the different categories for the costume contest: Most Original, Cutest, Best Couple/Family Costume, and Funniest."

"We're going to win Best Family Costume, right Mommy?" asked Lillian.

"Of course we are, as we do every year," she smiled and high-fived her daughter. The Coulter family was well known for creating Broadway themed costumes, including Captain and Maria Von Tropp and a few children from _The Sound of Music_ , Daddy Warbucks, Miss Hannigan, Annie, and Sandy from _Annie_ , Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, and Puss in Boots from _Shrek_ , and Gomez, Morticia, Puglsey, and Wednesday Addams from _The Addams Family_ and that was all in the time since Aaron had been born. That wasn't including all of the Broadway-themed costumes Rosie had made Lee wear in college and before they had children.

"What are you guys going as this year? I'm afraid to ask," said Jack.

"It involves a blonde princess, a red-haired princess, an iceman, a reindeer, and a talking snowman," said Lee, slightly bitter.

"Oh, of course," Jack and Elizabeth said simultaneously.

"Mrs. Dottie made me a blue dress that looks exactly like Elsa's dress that I can wear to my party on Saturday AND for our costume AND for trick-or-treating!" Lilly waved her hands around excitedly.

Abigail came over and smiled at the two families, "Does anyone want dessert?"

"A slice of your famous chocolate cherry cake if you have it," answered Rosemary just as Violet started to cry, "Um, in a to-go container, please?"

"No problem," said Abigail.

"Is she alright?" asked Jack.

"Yes, she's just really colicky," said Rosemary, cradling her in her arms, "She normally starts screaming for no reason around 5:00 and doesn't stop for a good 2-3 hours. It's okay baby," she soothed, though it didn't make a difference.

"That's the one thing I hate about the baby is she loves to cry for no reason," Lilly whispered to Elizabeth. Elizabeth chuckled. Everyone knew Lilly adored being a big sister to Aaron and Violet and had fallen in love with both of them the moment she had laid eyes on them at the hospital, but Aaron had been a much more easy-going baby than Violet was.

Abigail brought the cake and Lee quickly paid before they waved their farewells, "We're still going to take you up on that babysitting offer sometime soon," called Rosemary.

The Thorntons laughed and Jack shook his head, "Poor Lee, having to deal with three stubborn Coulter girls. At least he's a good sport about the Halloween costumes."

"Yes, but they always look cute though," said Elizabeth. They both paid as well before leaving the diner.

Once they reached the car, Jack turned to Elizabeth and said, "We should give them a run for their money this year."

"Excuse me?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

"With the costume contest. They always win Best Couple/Family Costume because nobody really runs against then. We should come up with a good family costume: you, me, William, and the girls."

"Jack," Elizabeth laughed, "We don't usually dress up. We just let the kids wear costumes."

"We could," said Jack, "Come on Lizzie, it could be fun!" he pleaded.

Elizabeth sighed. Jack only used the nickname 'Lizzie' when he really wanted something, "Please Mommy? Uncle Lee, Aunt Rosemary, Aaron, and Lilly win at everything," said Mary.

"Yeah," agreed Charlotte and William nodded.

"Alright, alright," Elizabeth succumbed to the pressure, "But just this one Halloween."

The kids and Jack all cheered as Elizabeth laughed quietly to herself. This was going to be an interesting Halloween.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few days, Elizabeth tried her best to try to come up with a good family costume that could compete with the Coulters. Honestly, she knew it would have to be cute and creative, but Jack and she had rarely worn couples costumes, even in college. They had just let Lee and Rosemary win all of the costume contests there as well. Friday morning, the day before Lilly's birthday party, Elizabeth woke up bright and early and dropped Mary and Charlotte off at preschool before stopping by Abigail's for her usual morning coffee. Abigail smiled when she saw the young teacher enter the restaurant, "Good morning, Elizabeth!"

"Morning Abigail," smiled Elizabeth.

"I have your coffee all ready to go. Extra cream, extra sugar," Abigail handed Elizabeth the beverage in a to-go cup.

"Thanks Abigail. I'll definitely need it," Elizabeth yawned.

"What's wrong?" asked Abigail.

"Oh, I was up all night searching for good family costume ideas on my laptop," she admitted.

"Wait a minute? I thought you and Jack didn't dress up for Halloween and only the kids did?" questioned Abigail in confusion.

"We don't normally. But this year, Jack is determined to beat the Coulters in the costume contest at the town Halloween party. I think it's because of that 'sibling-like rivalry' that Rosie and he have and have had since Lee and I met them at McDaniel," Elizabeth explained.

"Wait a minute? You guys are also putting together a family costume?" asked Clara coming up beside Abigail.

"Mmhm," Elizabeth confirmed, "Or we're going to try at least. Why, are you?"

"Yes. Jesse and I have been dying to take down the Coulters in that category ever since we got married. We figure Florence, Molly, and Dottie will find the Disney aspect cute, so we're going as characters from _The Little Mermaid_."

"Really?" Elizabeth chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep. Jesse will be Prince Eric, I'll be Ariel, and Josh and Adam will be Flounder and Sebastian," said Clara, "Don't get me wrong, I love Rosemary. It's just that, her family wins every year and every year she gets so competitive. It would be nice to see someone else take her down."

Elizabeth snickered, but fully agreed with Clara. She looked at the time on her cell phone and stood, "I have to get to school. Thanks for the coffee, Abigail. Nice seeing you, Clara."

"Have a good day, Elizabeth," they both waved.

Later that afternoon, at lunchtime, Elizabeth was researching costumes again when Rosemary barged into her classroom. Given the fact that Rosemary did so at least once every other day, Elizabeth wasn't entirely surprised, but she was desperately trying to keep her plans a secret from Rosemary. She knew that Rosemary would try to go bigger and better to win the contest at all costs, "Yoo hoo! Elizabeth!"

"Rosemary," Elizabeth smiled.

"What are you doing?" asked Rosemary, glancing towards the laptop screen.

"Oh, just looking up Halloween costumes for the kids," she answered and closed her laptop from view. Only half of the truth, but thankfully, Rosemary seemed somewhat satisfied.

"Oh," she replied, "Well, anyways, back to why I'm here. Can you come over to our house early tomorrow to help set up for Lilly's party?"

"Of course, what time do you need us there?" asked Elizabeth.

"Well, the party starts at noon, so maybe 10:30. Lee and I bought all of the stuff from Party City last week, but we need time to hang up decorations and Lee has to pick up the cake from Giant since it'll be custom made. Not to mention Violet…"

"Rosemary, we'll be there," said Elizabeth, "Now if I remember correctly, you have my class for music this afternoon."

"Right," said Rosemary, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." Rosemary left Elizabeth's classroom just as her friend opened up her laptop again. Rosemary couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew Elizabeth was hiding something from her.

Later that night, Rosemary and Lee tucked Lilly and Aaron into bed and Rosemary settled Violet into her arms to nurse. Thankfully, the infant's colic was improving slightly. Lee noticed his wife was very quiet, which was unusual, because she would at least talk to the baby when she was feeding her if nothing else, "Is something wrong, sweetheart?"

Rosemary shook her head, "No, just a lot on my mind, with Lilly's party and my classes and all."

Lee knew Rosemary wasn't telling him everything, so he put his Kindle down on his nightstand and rolled over to face his wife, "Tell me."

Rosemary stayed silent for a few more moments and stroked Violet's head before she said, "Elizabeth Thornton is up to something and I can't quite put my finger on what it is."

Lee raised his eyebrows "How do you know?"

"Well, I don't know for sure," admitted Rosemary as she began to burp the baby, "But when I went to see her earlier today, she was looking up something on her laptop that she clearly didn't want me to see."

"Honey, do you think that maybe, just maybe, Elizabeth wants some privacy?" asked Lee.

"Are you asking me to pretend like I don't get a strange feeling from what Elizabeth is planning?" asked Rosemary incredulously.

"No, I'm asking you not to jump to conclusions about anything," Rosemary went to speak, but Lee interrupted her, "I know that's like asking the sun not to rise."

Rosemary finished burping Violet and cradled her in her arms. Thankfully, she didn't start crying. Rosemary looked at her husband skeptically, but kissed his cheek anyways, "I have to go put her down."

Lee nodded and Rosemary went into the nursery. There were jungle animals and trees painted on the walls and plenty of animal toys (the kids had decided on a jungle theme for Violet's nursery since Lilly's had been princess themed and Aaron's had been the circus themed). Rosemary quietly sang Violet a lullaby and laid her in her crib. She stroked her baby girl's cheek and smiled, "We'll figure out what Auntie Elizabeth is up to, won't we sweetheart?"


	4. Chapter 4

Saturday morning arrived and the Thorntons were at the Coulter house bright and early to help set up for Lilly's party. The relief on Rosemary's face was evident when Jack and Elizabeth entered the house, "Thank goodness, you both are here! Lee went to pick up the cake, Aaron doesn't want to wear his Sven costume, and Violet is in one of her 'I don't want to be put down or I'll scream at the top of my lungs' moods," Rosemary said.

"What needs to be done, Rosie?" asked Jack.

"Blue streamers need to be hung, the _Frozen_ character balloons need to be placed around the room, the blue and white balloons need to be strung from the ceiling, and I still need to put Lilly and Violet in their costumes," Rosemary instructed.

"I'm on it," said Jack as he went to blow up some balloons.

Elizabeth smiled at her husband and then glanced over at Rosemary, who looked pretty frazzled at the moment, "Are you alright, Rosemary?"

"Yes, just had a really rough night with the baby. I think Lee and I got two of hours of sleep last night," she said.

"Okay, I am ordering you and Lee to take a day for yourselves next weekend, either Friday night or Saturday, but you both need couples time," said Elizabeth, scooping her Goddaughter into her arm, "Don't they, sweetheart?" she cooed at Violet.

"Okay, okay," Rosemary succumbed, "I just hate leaving her when she's still so little."

"Just a few hours, Rosemary, that's all you need," said Elizabeth.

"Alright, I'll talk to Lee and see if he wants to do something just the two of us next Saturday if he doesn't have to work," said Rosie, taking Violet back from Elizabeth, "Would you mind helping Lilly into her costume? I need to feed and change Violet before I dress her up for the party."

"Of course, is she in her room?" asked Elizabeth. Rosemary nodded and Elizabeth went up the stairs. She knocked on the door to Lilly's room; it was decorated with Disney princess posters so it wasn't hard to find, "Lilly?"

Lilly opened the door and smiled when she saw her Godmother, "Hi, Aunt Elizabeth!" she threw her arms around her.

"Hi Lilly," Elizabeth embraced her, "Listen, Mommy is busy with the baby, so she asked me to help you with your Elsa costume. Is that alright?"

Lilly wrinkled her nose a little but nodded, "Okay," she sighed. She let Elizabeth into her room, "Mommy is always busy with the baby," Lilly pouted.

Elizabeth found the blue dress and took it off the hanger, "I know. But babies need a lot of attention because they can't do things for themselves like you can. I know you remember when Aaron was born and he was the same way."

"Mommy fussed over Aaron a lot, but he didn't cry as much as Violet does. Aaron says we definitely know her lungs work," stated Lilly.

Elizabeth snickered, "She'll outgrow it in a few months, I promise. You were the same way when you were a baby."

"So I cried all the time for no reason too?" she asked.

"Yes, you did," affirmed Elizabeth. She zipped the back of Lilly's Elsa dress and asked, "Do you want me to put some glitter eye shadow on you?" Lilly nodded and Elizabeth began to carefully apply the make-up, "You know, Lilly, when Violet gets a little older, having a little sister will be the best thing that ever happened to you."

"Really?" asked Lilly.

"Mmhm," Elizabeth nodded, "I don't know what I would do without my sisters. We shared all sorts of secrets, we played games, made arts and crafts, and once we started to get older, we talked about boys and school and all sorts of interesting things."

"It would be nice to have someone to play princess and tea party with, because all Aaron wants to do is play with cars and laser tag," said Lilly.

Elizabeth laughed and put the glitter make-up back on her dresser, "Alright, go show Mommy how pretty you look!"

Lilly ran to Violet's nursery while Elizabeth joined her husband downstairs, "Lee just texted me that he was leaving the Giant, so he should be here any minute."

"Okay," nodded Elizabeth, "FYI, we will be babysitting the Coulter children next Friday night or Saturday. Lee and Rosie really need the time to themselves."

Jack chuckled, "Oh I remember our days with newborns. They should be lucky that they're not caring for newborn twins."

"Yes, but they're both worth it," Elizabeth smiled at Mary and Charlotte playing with William and Aaron. Lillian bounced down the stairs and Rosie was right behind her with Violet, who was fully dressed in her Olaf outfit, "Oh aren't you just an adorable little snowman!" Elizabeth cooed at Violet.

Violet began to giggle and Rosie mocked, "Oh sure, now you're going to show your happy, fun side."

"You, Lee, and Aaron aren't wearing your costumes?" questioned Elizabeth.

"Well, I'm tired of fighting with Aaron right now, so it's a no go on Sven," Rosie admitted.

"Well, what about you and Lee?" asked Elizabeth.

"Oh, Elizabeth, dear; with all due respect, Florence, Molly, and Dottie are coming to Lilly's party with their children. It would be unfair to the rest of you for them to see our costume ahead of time. And besides, I don't want anyone trying to take us down to see their competition ahead of time. It just wouldn't be fair to us or them. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Rosie gave her somewhat wicked smile and laugh, before walking away and barking more commands at Jack and Lee, who had just now arrived home from Giant and hadn't even set the cake down on the dessert table.

Aaron came up next to Elizabeth and said, "Mommy gets a little crazy when it comes to Halloween costume contests."

"I know," she patted Aaron's shoulder, "As she does with any holiday contest."

Noon arrived and the Coulter house was filled with a plethora of kids hyper from sugar and more than ready to eat some more. In addition to the Thornton and Coulter children, the Montgomerys, the Sullivans, the Blakeleys, the Ramseys, the Wolfs, the Weises, the Cantrells, the Flynns, and the Hogans were all in attendance. While Rosemary was always doting on her own children and she was pretty good with her students, dealing with a houseful of other people's children was a different story, "Sticky children, sticky children everywhere!" she said, coming over to Elizabeth, Faith, the school nurse, and Abigail.

They all chuckled and Faith asked, "Problems?"

"YES! Sticky children are everywhere!" Rosemary motioned, "Good thing my kids' birthdays only come once a year," she stated the obvious.

"We can stay and help with clean-up if you want," said Abigail.

"Thank you, that would be very much appreciated," Rosemary said, "Oh I talked to Lee, he has to work late Friday, so you'll be watching the kids next Saturday."

"Good, maybe we can take them to Chuck-E-Cheese or the mall or something to get all of that energy out of them," said Elizabeth.

"I don't know where Lilly gets it from. She's such a little chatterbox and a little fireball of energy," said Rosemary, sipping her Coke. Everyone snickered but Rosemary didn't notice, "Well, we should probably sing 'Happy Birthday' and let Lilly open her presents. She's dying to get into them."

The partygoers sang 'Happy Birthday' and watched Lilly open, or rather, tear through her presents before the celebration ended. The Thorntons, Hogans, and Cantrells stayed behind to help with tear down and clean up, "Jack, Frank, Shane, could you help me deflate the giant Olaf out front?" asked Lee.

"Of course," they all agreed and followed their friend out front.

"Guys, why don't you go upstairs and play with Lilly and Aaron while we all help Mrs. Coulter clean up her living and dining rooms?" instructed Elizabeth.

Violet started screaming from her bassinet and Rosie whimpered a little. She cradled her daughter in her arms and she could tell by Violet's actions that it was time to eat, "Can you girls handle the clean-up temporarily? I really need to go and feed her."

"Of course, we can handle everything," assured Abigail and Rosemary disappeared upstairs. Abigail smirked at Elizabeth and asked, "So how are the costume ideas coming?"

"We settled on _Beauty and the Beast_ last night," said Elizabeth proudly.

"You, Jack, and the kids are going with a Disney theme too?" asked Faith.

"Yes, why are you?" questioned Elizabeth.

" _Cinderella_ ," smiled Faith, "Hoping one of our themes takes down the little darlings of the Hope Valley family costume contest."

Elizabeth and Abigail chuckled, "Well, we'll see," said Abigail.

"Are you, Frank, Becky, and Cody dressing up?" asked Elizabeth hopefully.

"Becky and Cody, yes, me and Frank, no," responded Abigail.

"Why not?" asked Faith.

"We've never dressed up for Halloween. We've let the kids for the past few years, but we never have, even when it was just the two of us," protested Abigail.

"Neither have Jack and I, but we are this year," pleaded Elizabeth, "Come on, maybe you guys could do _Snow White_ or _Peter Pan_?"

"Maybe _Sleeping Beauty_?" chimed in Faith.

"Listen, I know everyone in town is chomping at the bit to take down the Coulters this year, but I think they will have plenty of competition. From what I've heard, Molly and Rosaleen Sullivan are doing _Brave_ and Dottie and Bradley Ramsey are doing _Toy Story_ in addition to you all and Jesse, Clara, and the boys."

"Well, who's judging then?" asked Elizabeth.

"I believe Cat and Florence are, at least for that category," answered Abigail, "Assuming everything works out."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Faith.

"Well, when Silas Ramsey was mayor, he always approved the permits for the town Halloween celebration right away, but ever since he passed and Henry Gowen took over as mayor, it seems all of the businesses are having trouble getting their permits approved for the various booths and contest tents."

"I'm sure everything will work out," comforted Elizabeth though she wasn't 100% sure. When Silas Ramsey had died suddenly of a heart attack six months prior, Henry Gowen, as president of the town council, was next in line for mayor even though many Hope Valley citizens had wanted to hold an emergency election, but they weren't allowed until the official elections next month.

Rosemary came down the stairs and noticed everyone was very quiet, so she decided to fill the silence of the room, as per usual, "I'm sorry, ladies, but my baby needed me, or rather a certain part of me…"

"No, it's not you," mentioned Elizabeth, "We all know how much new babies eat. It's something else."

"Well, what's going on?" asked Rosemary.

The three women glanced at each other, "It's probably nothing," admitted Abigail.

Rosemary sighed. She had the feeling their new worry wasn't about Halloween costumes, because that was a minor concern in the scheme of things. Sure, she _may_ get a little competitive for her kids' sake, but she could tell this was more serious. This mystery was getting bigger and bigger.


	5. Chapter 5

**This is not an update, but a public service announcement that updates on this story will be postponed indefinately. Thank you all for your understanding.**


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